Positive news surfaces more freely; it seems, as a California man who was diagnosed with the coronavirus and recovered, has donated his plasma to help others struggling with the potentially deadly virus. A story that will touch many fighting with anxiety and fear from this virus pandemic.
The story of the man begins on March 6, Jason Garcia felt he had a mild cough and some congestion in his chest.
The 36-year-old aerospace engineer from Escondido, California, didn’t react to it and didnt think that much of it. However, later, while on a work trip, he mentioned a headache had started accompanying his dry cough. Within a day, he had reported a fever and body aches that quickly came and went. Then he began experiencing shortness of breath. All signs that point to the deadly virus.
After becoming ill, Garcia notified his doctor and, based on his symptoms, was told to go to the hospital and get tested for coronavirus. After fighting the packed ER room, he was sent home and received a call on March 14, notifying him to know he had tested positive for COVID-19.
“They said stay isolated,” Garcia said. “That’s what I did.”
Jason Garcia’s home isolation.
He spent approximately ten days inside his home, restricted to his office or his guest room, isolating away from his active-duty Navy wife and their 11- month-old daughter. Around the fifth day, he began to feel better and considered himself symptom-free on March 18.
He received a letter from the county of San Diego saying that it was safe for him to come out of isolation and rejoined the world on March 23.
Garcia stated although the protocol for coming out of isolation was said to be 72 hours without symptoms, he wanted to be extra cautious. “I decided to do five days just to be safe,” he said.
Garcia wrote on social media: “I claimed victory over this deadly virus. I won over COVID-19.”
The same week, health officials at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Orange County, California, also took to social media to say they were looking for someone who had been diagnosed with coronavirus and had recovered. They were seeking a subject to help with experimental treatment to save the life of another coronavirus patient potentially.
Garcia was tipped off by a friend who saw both their post and figured it was a great match. St. Joseph asked him for a plasma donation to be given to a coronavirus patient who was in dire condition and unresponsive to other treatments.
He said yes without any hesitation and stated that “This can be turned into a lifesaving opportunity for someone who can’t fight off this disease.”
The plasma donation will provide the current coronavirus patient antibodies from Garcia, a recovered patient, to help attack the disease, Wendy Escobedo, director of nursing for renal services at St. Joseph’s Hospital announced in a video produced by the hospital.
On April 1, Garcia provided his plasma for experimental transfer into three patients with hopes of a quick recovery.
As of Sunday, he said, doctors told him that all of his plasma has been donated and was in the process of saving their lives. Garcia stated that a patient who was in the worst condition has since improved.
The patient was taken off most of his medication and is healthier in terms of oxygenation and is doing incrementally better every day.
“When I was diagnosed, the feeling of dread and fear, the fact this was a positive,” Garcia revealed. “This thing ended up, possibly saving someone’s life.”
It is still unclear how Garcia became infected with the virus; however, he’s glad he possibly could contribute to treatment until a vaccine is ready.
“If this works, there’s going to be an awesome chance for people to save a lot of heartache for others and fight the fight for their lives.”
As of today, there are, Coronavirus Cases: 1,339,970 with a total of Deaths:
74,410 and Recovered: 277,852.
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